GOD WILL ACT ON YOUR CHOICE

1 Peter 5:5 says that God Will Act On Your Choice - "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

One of the best examples of this in Scripture is King Nebuchadnezzar. God had sent the king messages that He, Jehovah God, was greater and that Nebuchadnezzar was not. Then God sent a dream to Nebuchadnezzar picturing him as a tree that would be cut down to the stump. The king did not take the symbolism of the dream seriously and proceeded to dive in to and enjoy his accomplishments with prideful comments. "God gave the king another year to climb down from his pompous throne. But he never did. Oh, the proliferation of pronouns. 'I have built', 'my mighty power', 'my majesty'. The king was all about the king." (Max Lucado, p.63, Unshakable Hope)

"When the mighty fall, the fall is mighty. And we are left with a lesson: God hates pride." (Lucado, p. 63 Unshakable Hope)

Nebuchadnezzar was humbled greatly for seven years. So incredible was his fall that he found his kingdom, authority and sanity all stripped from him - and his home was the pasture of the fields. 

"How do we explain God's abhorrence of the haughty heart? Simple. God resists the proud because the proud resist God. Arrogance stiffens the knee so it will not kneel, hardens the heart so it will not admit to sin. The heart of pride never confesses, never repents, never asks for forgiveness. Indeed, the arrogant never feel the need for forgiveness. Pride is the hidden reef that shipwrecks the soul." (Lucado, p.64, Unshakable Hope)

Whether it took this seven-year duration because of the decreed judgment or because the process of eliminating pride or both - Nebuchadnezzar eventually declared, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble." (Daniel 4:34, 37)

This last sentence the king said - "And those who walk in pride He is able to humble." - is a good reminder to do a lifestyle check often. "It's better to humble yourself than to wait for God to do it for you." (Lucado, p.68, Unshakable Hope) The writer of Hebrews says, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31) However, God's action for the humble is grace or favor. God's action for the proud is to resist them. What is your decision? Because God Will Act On Your Choice.